Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in the Netherlands. So the best thing you can do is protect yourself against it. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do yourself. For example, eat lots of vegetables and fruit. Research has shown that eating onions is particularly healthy. People who eat a lot of onions are less likely to die from cardiovascular diseases than those who don’t. The reason why onions help to protect your body against cardiovascular diseases probably has to do with the high level of quercetin which they contain. Quercetin is a special type of flavonoid, an antioxidant which is also often found in tea, red wine and apples. In general, most scientific research indicates that eating foods containing a high level of flavonoids is beneficial to the heart and blood vessels. It might be true that tea contains more quercetin, but quercetin obtained from onions is absorbed much better by the body.

Protection against free radicals

Antioxidants help to protect the body against free radicals. Free radicals are harmful substances created in the body because of smoking, air pollution, sunlight and the normal metabolic processes.

If free radicals are not rendered ineffective by antioxidants, they can become harmful. They play a role, for example, in the development of several diseases, such as various types of cancer, and they undermine your body’s resistance to disease; antioxidants, therefore, offer valuable protection. This is why it is important to make sure that there are enough antioxidants in your diet. Vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene are well-known examples. But bio-active substances in vegetables and fruit also contain antioxidants and this applies particularly to onions. They contain up to five to ten times more of these substances than other vegetables do.

Supplier of Fibre

100 grams of onion contains just as much fibre as one slice of brown bread. And that’s an added advantage because, in general, we do not eat nearly enough fibre in the Netherlands. Fibre is important for a proper bowel movement. It gives you the feeling that you have eaten enough and has also proven to be very effective against cardiovascular diseases. The fibre in your foods is not digested in your body. However, this does not mean that it doesn't do anything. It keeps your bowel movement going and provides a nice breeding ground for useful bacteria which can be found in your digestive tract. This allows your intestinal bacteria to do their job properly.

Full of vitamins and minerals

Onions, like other types of vegetables, are a great source of vitamins and minerals. Some types of vegetable contain a lot of this, other types contain a lot of that. By combining and varying all the different sorts of vegetables, you'll automatically get everything you need. The major vitamins in onions are vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium.

Using onions easily ups your consumption of vegetables to 200 g a day.
Eating 200 g of vegetables a day is also part of a healthy diet. This may be a bit difficult sometimes, because 200 g of vegetables is quite a lot. Most people in the Netherlands don’t achieve this. In practice, they barely manage 125 g a day. Onions can help out here because onions are also vegetables, of course, even though you don’t realise this sometimes! This is because onions are often hidden in dishes such as soups, sauces and salads. Use that onion power! Fry a few onion rings with your steak, or put some chopped onion in soups and sauces. Just half an onion and you already have a quarter of the recommended amount of vegetables you need every day.

Did you know

They even organise garlic and onion festivals in certain regions, such as California, Switzerland and the South-west of France.